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mullet

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "mullet", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "mullet" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "mullet" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

mullet is aEnglishnoun. It means: A fish of the family Mullidae (order Syngnathiformes), especially the genus Mullus (red mullets or goatfish). Pronounced /ˈmʌlɪt/. Often confused with muppet and musket.

Key facts for mullet
PropertyValue
Headwordmullet
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmʌlɪt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#30,147
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of mullet in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for mullet is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmʌlɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #30,147 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 7 documented wrong-spelling variants for mullet, with forms such as "mlulet", "mmullet", and "mulelt". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 15 confusable-pair relationships, "muppet", "musket", "mule", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English molet, mulett, from Old French mulet (now ‘grey mullet’), from Latin mullus (“red mullet”), from Ancient Greek μύλλος (múllos). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is mullet, spelled M-U-L-L-E-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A fish of the family Mullidae (order Syngnathiformes), especially the genus Mullus (red mullets or goatfish).
  2. 2
    A fish of the family Mugilidae (order Mugiliformes) (grey mullets).
  3. 3
    Any of several species of freshwater fish in the sucker family (especially in the genus Moxostoma, redhorses)

Etymology

From Middle English molet, mulett, from Old French mulet (now ‘grey mullet’), from Latin mullus (“red mullet”), from Ancient Greek μύλλος (múllos).

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: mlulet,mmullet,mulelt,mulet,mullett,mullte,umllet

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for mullet

Misspelling Variants of "mullet"

mlulet6mmullet7mulelt6mulet5mullett7mullte6umllet6
Misspelling Variants of "mullet"

Frequency rank: #30,147 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mullet"?
"mullet" is spelled M-U-L-L-E-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmʌlɪt/.
What does "mullet" mean?
As a noun, "mullet" means: A fish of the family Mullidae (order Syngnathiformes), especially the genus Mullus (red mullets or goatfish).
What words are commonly confused with "mullet"?
"mullet" is commonly confused with "muppet", "musket", "mule". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mullet"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mullet" is /ˈmʌlɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "mullet"?
From Middle English molet, mulett, from Old French mulet (now ‘grey mullet’), from Latin mullus (“red mullet”), from Ancient Greek μύλλος (múllos). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter M in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.